Iran’s Foreign Policy Not Focused on US Internal Affairs

Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has played down the impact of the results of US midterm elections on Tehran-Washington relations, adding that Iran should focus more on its own actions rather than expecting change to come from beyond its borders.   
“We do not formulate our policies based on US internal affairs,” Zarif said in a recent radio interview when asked if the outcome of the 2018 congressional midterm elections will affect the nature of bilateral ties.
In the midterm elections held on Nov. 6, the Democrats won back control of the House of Representatives, while Republicans were able to expand their majority in the Senate, Reuters reported. 
“We do not make decisions based on internal developments of the United States and it cannot be said that Democrats are willing to engage with Iran and Republicans are not. This is a reality that both Republicans and Democrats disagree with Iran, and there is no doubt about it,” ISNA on Saturday quoted him as saying in the interview.
The top diplomat said as a person who has studied international relations, he predicts that the results of the elections will present new challenges for the administration of US President Donald Trump. 
But such issues have nothing to do with Iran’s foreign policy or the nuclear deal it signed with world powers in 2015, which Trump abandoned earlier this year, he added. 

Proactive Stance 

The foreign minister maintains that it is up to Iran to take the necessary steps to advance its policies and isolate the United States.   
“Iran is an important actor on the world stage and everything depends on how effective the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy is in isolating the United States as a result of its bullying and domineering policies. We should rely more on our actions than US domestic policy,” he said, adding that he had emphasized this point in comments to USA Today ahead of the elections. 
“In one sentence, we’re not pinning any hopes on [midterm elections] or [the] 2020 [presidential election]. What distinguishes Iran from some US clients in the region is we have survived not only in spite of the US but against US … Iran has been through Democratic and Republican administrations in the past … all of them hostile … We rely on ourselves,” Zarif said in the interview published a day before the elections in response to whether Democratic gains are good for Iran because they could conceivably provide a check on Trump’s agenda. 
The minister believes that the best way to overcome US sanctions is not to be intimidated by the psychological warfare against the country. 
“The Americans want to keep us in a state of uncertainty about the future and want to prolong the situation,” he said on the radio program, adding that Iran should not play into the hands of the US. 
Zarif also said the nation should rely on its domestic potentials and human resources to address economic challenges.